Retirement Boulder
Advisor and Investment Fees
If you're like most retirees, you probably don't pay much attention to your investment, advisor or other fees. As a result, you may end up wondering why your retirement savings hasn't lasted as long as you planned. With our Fee Filter tool, you may be able to reduce the hidden costs and fees draining your retirement. Keeping more of your money where it belongs — in your account.
Here's the Danger
There are two types of fees that can drain your retirement:
Advisor Fees
Go directly to your financial advisor
Investment Fees
Are netted off your returns and paid to the company managing your investments (mutual funds, variable annuities, etc.)
These fees may not bother you when you're making money (like the last 12 years). But in a downturn, they can feel downright painful. For example, if your advisor and investment fees amount to 2% annually, you could be paying $10,000 each year on a $500,000 IRA, or over $100,000 every decade.
Financial Advisors Are Part of the Problem
Financial advisors often charge an Assets Under Management (AUM) fee - usually 1%.
That means you pay your advisor a percentage of your accounts. As your money grows, so too does their fee. Unfortunately, their services usually stay the same. And if you’d like to see a detailed breakdown of the fees from the investments they chose, good luck. The fees are buried in statements or netted off returns, or both. We bet your financial advisor doesn't even know.
You Need A Fee Filter
It should be easy to understand how much things cost.
That’s why our Fee Filter uses special software to show exactly how much you’re paying in advisor fees, and how much you are paying for investments. That transparency applies to our own fee as well. We offer our services on a flat fee - every client is the same - and we charge based on services, not the zeroes on your accounts.
Avoid the Fee Boulder
Learn more about the Fee Boulder on the Expedition RetirementSM Show. New episodes weekly.
Fee Boulder Articles
How to Get a Fee Filter
The Fee Filter is part of the Roadmap for RetirementSM, your comprehensive plan for protecting your retirement.
Your personalized Roadmap for RetirementSM contains all the tools you need to minimize what could be your greatest risks in retirement, including a Fee Filter, a Long-Term Care Compass to protect against long-term care costs, a Tax Map to lower your overall tax burden, and a Market Flashlight to right-size your market risk.